Rise of the Toad Sage Public Beta
by PDXGuy
Summary: This is an epic tale, first of five books, about Jiraiya and the setting up of a bet in order to gain the love of the hardest woman in existence, Tsunade. This copy of the story is a beta and will be reposted after all edits are made.
1. Chapter 1

**Volume 1 – Rise of the Toad Sage**

**Prologue**

It was a dark and cloudy day during the morning recess at the Ninja Academy playground. Soft showers sprinkled on the fine dust which laid there most of the previous summer, turning it into a sticky brown paste. Feet, small but strong, trampled ringlets of mud and transplanted it wherever they went; it was a big mess. The students were glad to be out of class during this recess. The mid-autumn weather so far had been wet and cold, so they hadn't been able to spend a lot of time to outdoors, unless they wanted to get muddy. They smiled and exhaled little clouds of vapor as they chatted amongst themselves. Some shivered and rubbed their arms and talked. Others were more active; they leapt, ducked, and blocked hits.

Outside the lines of blurred chalk where the children played, the Sensei watched. He wore a plain gray uniform which was stiff-collared and pressed. It was a throwback to the early Ninja Wars which he had been a part of. Now, after having suffered some injuries, he decided to retire and take on the role of teacher. The students knew him as Jukei-sensei. His family and close friends knew him as Akemi. He looked up in the sky after having a few cold raindrops pelt him. He thought ruefully, '_T__he rain is getting worse_.' He checked his watch and the state of the children on the playground. He decided it was time to bring the kids in and continue their lessons. He put his whistle in his mouth and blew it two times. He yelled, "Everyone, get inside!"

Students lined up and began entering the building. The sky, angry with black clouds, seemed to agree with Akemi wholeheartedly. Thunder crashed just over the Hokage mansion loudly as if to punctuate the thought, startling some of the students. The rain swelled and came down harder, bouncing off the ceramic tiles on the roofs with a roar. Akemi was soaked in seconds, much to his chagrin. He ushered the remaining children into the classroom, doing a mental count as they passed by. When he was done, he figured he was two short. '_Damn. It looks like they have wandered off again,_' he thought. He allowed his chakra energy to flow to his mind. With his eyes closed, he could see a layout of the land in the form of energies instead of visible light. With a sweep of the area, two forms stood out. '_There they are_,' he thought. He threw his hood up over his head and walked in the direction of the energy patterns.

In an alleyway between buildings, the two missing teenage boys were talking to one another. One was a black haired boy with pale skin. His name was Orochimaru, and the other boy was trying to impress him. Rain gushed out of gutter spouts nearby.

Orochimaru wiped rain water from his eyes and snorted derisively, "I'm not interested, Jiraiya. The teacher called us in. Let's go!"

"Hold on! This technique is really amazing, Oro-chan." The white haired boy said confidently.

Orochimaru hated Jiraiya. He bragged too much and treated everyone as though they were close. He didn't understand the normal boundary of acquaintanceship, or friendship for that matter. He began to question why he even followed Jiraiya to the alley in the first place. Maybe it was curiosity, or boredom. Right now, he was just irritated that all Jiraiya wanted to do is show off more of his inane jutsu. To cut the boy off quickly, Orochimaru decided to remind him of his true feelings, "I'm not your friend, Monogatari-san," He said venomously, casting his steely gaze at the other kid, " nor will I ever be, so stop using 'chan' with my name."

Akemi arrived and yelled, "Orochimaru, Monogatari-san! Get inside _now_."

The two boys nearly jumped out of their skins. '_Amazing. I didn't even hear him coming__,_' Orochimaru thought. Akemi led them in and walked to the podium. Lessons always began with lectures in the class. Sometimes the kids enjoyed the lectures, and other times, the material was so boring that they fell asleep. That particular day was review, and Jiraiya was bored. While Jiraiya waited for the lecture, he thumbed through some study guides. The classroom door opened, and a blond girl he didn't recognize walked in. She sat down across from him, turned her head towards him and looked away as if she didn't care for what she saw. He tried to look nonchalant by turning to his notes and looking busy, but he really wanted to know who this new girl was.

Akemi began his lecture, "Ninjutsu is the marriage of spiritual and physical energies which can be controlled through special seals. Some of the effects of jutsu may seem impossible, but they are easily explained once you understand how they work. Not all effects require a seal to invoke their power. With enough focus, you can direct chakra energy to parts of your body and enhance it. They can make muscles stronger, bones harder, or provide extra power to senses, like hearing or sight...."

Jiraiya played with his pencil, uninterested. He looked across the aisle to the girl he saw earlier. She turned her head slightly, noticed him and quickly looked away. He went back to his pencil. He thought back to a conversation Nishi and he had the day before...

"Hey Jiraiya, I heard there's going to be a famous girl in our class." Nishi told him during lunch, with his usual excited expression.

Jiraiya smiled and asked, "Yeah? Who?"

"Senju Tsunade," Nishi replied with incredulity, "Everyone's talking about her."

Jiraiya shook his head and smiled, "A new girl, huh? I think it's time she met me. I'm practically famous around here. Everyone knows me."

His friend Nishi shook his head, "Famous, my ass. You keep wishing, my friend. You better not blow it like you do with all of the other girls. This girl is strong, and might kick your ass if you act the way you usually do."

Jiraiya's thoughts returned to the present. The girl next to him _did_ at least carry herself like she was someone important. She had a way of sitting. Her body language and posture indicated good manners and etiquette training. Her clothing was top quality, and she wore a hint of makeup. As he studied her, she noticed, raised her eyebrows at him and snapped her pencil. He quickly turned his attention towards the Sensei.

There was some part of the conversation Jiraiya missed, but the last part snapped him to attention, "Monogatari-san, maybe you would like to demonstrate?"

Jiraiya nervously walked up and said, "I, uh, forgot what we were demonstrating."

Akemi shook his head in disappointment. "Maybe you should pay more attention to me and less on Senju-san."

The name "Senju" rang a bell. Senju Hashiram was the first Hokage and one of the founders of Konoha. Jiraiya looked over at Senju-san and wondered if she was related. Akemi was staring at him, and he noticed with embarrassment that everyone else did too. In a panic, he prostrated himself in a low bow and yelled, "I'm sorry, Sensei!"

Akemi sighed, folded his arms impatiently and said, "Monagatari-san, please create a clone for your demonstration."

The young man bowed respectfully and said, "Hai Sensei." He closed his eyes and reached back inside himself to bring out spiritual and physical energies. His hands and fingers gestured seals into the air and finished with his index fingers touching each other. At that very moment, he yelled, "_Bunshin no jutsu_!"

A poof of smoke surrounded the space next to him. When it cleared, a duplicate of him stood next to him. He playfully reached through the illusion with his arm and made bunny ears with his fingers. A few of the kids in the class laughed.

"Thank you," Akemi said with a sigh, "Go to your seat and let someone else try."

Jiraiya strutted towards his desk, grinning like a maniac. He walked by Senju-san. She avoided eye contact, but to her annoyance, he changed direction and walked toward her. He leaned on her desk and smiled winningly at her. The entire class silently watched the spectacle in horror or amusement. Senju-san's face was pink with embarrassment. Jiraiya said, "I'm Jiraiya. It's nice to meet you."

Nishi whispered angrily, "Jiraiya no baka!"

The pretty blond didn't want to talk to him. Her brown eyes squinted dangerously and she replied, "I'll tell you this once. I'm Senju Tsunade, and I don't approve of strangers who think they're above formal introductions. Go away."

Akemi cleared his throat and said, "Monogatari-san, please take your seat and leave her alone."

Jiraiya smirked and whispered in Tsunade's ear, "I saw you looking at me."

Tsunade's fingers tensed against the edges of her desk, cracking the wood slowly. She yelled, "Go away!"

Jiraiya cowered and ran to his desk.

As the days went by, Jiraiya tried harder to impress Tsunade. He generally got in her way. Orochimaru was thankful that some of the attention was drawn away from him, at least. One day, after class, Jiraiya asked Tsunade, "Are you really related to Senju Hashiram?"

"Not that it matters, but yes," She replied in irritation as she focused her chakra energy for an exercise. She stopped what she was doing and asked, "Why do you ask?"

"That's amazing," He exclaimed with wide eyes, "So you're practically a princess, then."

"Don't _start_ with me, Monogatari-san," She said firmly. She sighed, irritated at losing her concentration, then added, to ward off future interruptions, "I'm not in the mood."

He opened his mouth again, causing Tsunade's teeth to clench as she waited for him to bother her again. He stopped to think about what he was going to say, then said, "'Princess Tsunade' has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

She growled, "I would prefer it if you _didn't_ call me that. Look, don't you have something better to do? I know! Maybe you could go count rocks you see as you fall down a cliff?"

Jiraiya frowned and said sarcastically, "If that's what _Princess _Tsunade commands."

Tsunade's temper flared into rage. She focused chakra into her arm muscles and punched him so hard, he flew against the wall. She screamed, "I told you to stop!" He slumped on the floor with a bloody nose and a glazed over look. She bit her lip in worry. She felt for his pulse and was relieved to feel one. Angry at herself, she stared at her hand. There was a rush over the power she could wield, and an overwhelming feeling of guilt.

Akemi came around the corner and saw Jiraiya on the ground. He immediately checked Jiraiya for life signs and sighed, "Well, you didn't kill him."

"I'm sorry, Sensei!" Tsunade apologized with guilty tears starting. She fought them off and wiped her eyes.

"We'll talk about this after I get him to the infirmary." Akemi replied softly. He did a quick check for broken bones and carefully carried Jiraiya off.

Medical ninjas accepted Jiraiya into their ward and looked after him. After getting a bandage on his nose and some basic healing jutsu on his bruises and contusions, he woke up. He looked around and heard Akemi talking to one of the medical staff.

"Please let me know as soon as he wakes up." Akemi said. He turned around and saw that Jiraiya was staring at him and added, "Never mind." He peered over Jiraiya and said, "Tch. You really made her mad this time, Monogatari-san."

Jiraiya's head hurt, and so did his heart. "All I did was call her a Princess." He protested sulkily.

"You will just have to accept that she just doesn't like you," Akemi said sympathetically. He sat down on a chair next to the hospital bed. He held his breath and then added, "Why can't you find another nice girl to be friends with?"

"Nobody wants to be friends with me. Orochimaru told me that he isn't my friend, and now she doesn't want to be my friend either. Nobody wants me."

"That isn't true." Akemi disagreed lamely, knowing that it was probably true. To change the subject, he asked, "Why do _you _think she acts this way?"

"Because I'm probably not doing the right things to impress her. I told her about all of the jutsu I knew, and showed her my cool poses." Jiraiya replied with a sad shrug. He couldn't keep his eyes on Akemi.

"OK. But have you been listening to her? Really listened?" Akemi offered, trying to lead Jiraiya to the root of the issue.

"I hear what she says just fine." Jiraiya replied, wrinkling his brow in irritation.

"No, Monogatari-san," Akemi stated flatly, "I'm sorry, but you _don't_. She asked you to leave her alone over and over again. I've heard her myself. I hate to do this, but this is an order. That is what you will do from now on."

Jiraiya's cheeks flushed and the humiliation of being scolded by Sensei and being disliked by Tsunade. A big lump filled this throat and there was a lot of pain in his heart. He silently cursed to himself that he screwed up; he did something wrong to upset her, so he promised he'd make it up to her and say the right thing next time. All of this was contrary to the lesson that Sensei was trying to teach him, but Jiraiya had selective hearing and a lot of denial.

Akemi patted Jiraiya on the shoulder and said, "Get some rest. Tomorrow we're going to have another talk about this." He walked away slowly and closed the door behind him.

Jiraiya closed his eyes and fell asleep. He didn't care much for facing the rest of the day, and his head hurt.

Tsunade walked into the room timidly. She gasped when she saw Jiraiya's face black and blue and swollen. She started to feel like she shouldn't be there, but she felt morally obligated to apologize to him. So she went to Jiraiya's side and said softly, "Jiraiya-san..."

Jiraiya didn't move. He was snoring softly. There was something serene and less idiotic about the boy when his eyes were closed. She hated herself all the more for what she did. She leaned over and said in a whisper, "I'm sorry for hitting you like that. I can't stand my temper problem. Yes, you irritate me and drive me nuts, but I had no right to do that to you. I only hope you can forgive me." She wiped her eyes and hesitated before leaving. She kissed Jiraiya's forehead and walked away.

The next day, Akemi led Jiraiya to the Hokage mansion. He said to Jiraiya, "This is for your own good, Monogatari-san."

Jiraiya was out of the infirmary, and had a horrible headache. On top of that, he felt miserably depressed about Tsunade hitting him. Every footstep to the mansion was like wearing lead weights. He turned to Akemi and said in a clearly depressed tone, "I don't care anymore. Just do what you will."

The mansion was a several stories tall cylindrical shaped building with a huge mountain behind it with a sheer rock face and graven images of past Hokages carved into it. The entrance to the building was simple and had a stairway that led to the second floor where the Hokage's office was.

They went into the building and knocked on the door to the Hokage's office. Jiraiya was scared. He had been in trouble before, but never was brought in front of the Hokage before. After being let in, Akemi bowed formally to the Nidaime Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

"So _this_ is our troublemaker, Jukei?" Tobirama asked, pressing his fingertips together several times. He was a trim, good looking man in his forties. His face had triangular marks painted on it, his hair was gray and fashionably spiky and he wore white ceremonial robes which indicated his position as Hokage. He studied Akemi's expressions.

"Hai." Akemi replied in respectful tones. He gestured towards Jiraiya and said, "I've warned Monogatari-san several times not to harass Senju-san, but conventional punishment hasn't been enough. Taking him here to see you was a last resort."

Jiraiya protested sullenly, "I didn't harass her. I called her a princess."

Tobirama made a face and cautioned, "Monogatari-san, Tsunade-chan is my grand-niece. Speak more respectfully about her."

Jiraiya sighed and bowed, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Akemi checked his watch and turned to Tobirama, "Will you take of this matter for me, Hokage-sama? I have class in five minutes."

"I'll take responsibility." Tobirama said and waved dismissively. Akemi bowed and headed towards the door. Jiraiya started to follow him.

Tobirama ordered, "No, Monogatari-san, stay."

Jiraiya stopped and slumped his shoulders. Tobirama gestured towards an ornate wooden chair. Jiraiya walked over to it, sat down, and frowned.

Tobirama leaned back and added, "Sensei has been reporting all of your progress throughout the year to me. You've done some great things, and your scores are impressive, but this thing with Tsunade-chan troubles me."

Jiraiya complained, "Wasn't getting punched by her enough punishment? Now you're going to lecture me because I like her."

Nidaime Hokage smiled coldly and tapped his fingers together. "You know that's not the reason I've called you here, Monogatari-san. Let me ask you a simple question. Has she ever told you to stop talking to her, or to leave her alone?"

"That's what Jukei-sensei asked me. I'll tell you the same thing. She did, but I'm _sure _she didn't want me to leave her _completely _alone. I must have said something to make her upset at me."

"You aren't truthful with yourself, Monogatari-san. I can see no other way to do this. Sometimes you need to hear the truth from the source." Tobirama shuffled some papers on his desk. He opened a file and pulled a sheet of paper out of it. He tapped the document and commanded, "Read it."

Jiraiya accepted the yellow document and opened it reluctantly. Jiraiya turned the pages, and noticed that there were complaints with each page. All of them were from Tsunade asking for a transfer, or begging Jiraiya to be expelled. Jiraiya's heart sank as he thought, '_Expelled…did she hate me this much?'_

"Does this sound like a girl that wants your attention?"

Jiraiya's face fell. He looked down at the highly polished wooden desk and sighed, "I guess not."

"Now that you've started to get the idea, it's time for your punishment, Monogatari-san. "

"Punishment?" Jiraiya worriedly asked.

"You are now on cleanup duty at the men's public bath until graduation."

Jiraiya shuddered at the though of overweight men in bath towels. He said with a bow, "I'll do my best, Hokage-sama."

"That's not all. After graduation, I will resolve this issue in a more permanent and creative way, but most of all, you are not to harass Tsunade-chan any further."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Jiraiya said, bowing and leaving. He held in his anger for another time.

**Chapter 1 – There's no "I" in Teamwork**

It was bright and clear with the warmth of the impending summer coming. Akemi's class stood in the front of the school, fanning themselves or trying to capture some shade wherever they could.

Akemi stood in front of a podium with a ceremonial Sensei's robe on. He smiled at his students proudly. He motioned for the first of his students to approach him. As they arrived he shook their hand and gave them a graduation gift. It was a forehead protector made of a metal band, cloth straps and an etched symbol representing a leaf.

Jiraiya walked up to the podium and received his forehead protector from Akemi. He posed victoriously for the crowd, holding his fingers up in a "V" sign. Grumbles were heard from the crowd. Orochimaru and Tsunade started to feel headaches coming on in embarrassment.

Afterwards, the graduates went into the lobby to check the giant roster to see who was assigned to which Sensei for their Genin test. Genin was the first paid rank of ninja. After passing, they could begin earning their commission as ninjas on D ranked missions.

Jiraiya nervously peered at the chart and ran his hand along it. He found a line with his name on it and the name of his Sensei. He was amazed. It was "Sarutobi Hiruzen", also known as "The Professor". He was famous for having known one thousand techniques. He grinned with excitement and yelled, "I have Sarutobi-sensei!" The crowd behind him looked fit to hit him.

Tsunade pushed her way in to look at her assignment. After reading it, she beat the wall with her fist, knocking a brick loose and screamed angrily. Orochimaru stood next to her and looked questioningly. She growled ferociously, "I'm going to be stuck with Jiraiya!"

Orochimaru looked at the chart and shook his head, saying, "Me too. It looks like I've been assigned to the same team."

"I'll kill him before I team up with him!" Tsunade said, clenching her teeth and stomping her foot. A crack in the wooden floor appeared under her foot.

Later that night at home, Tsunade drifted off asleep in her bed and was dreaming. In her dream, she stood on the rocky summit of a mountain. She wore a light pink kimono with sakura flowers embroidered on it. When she turned around, Jiraiya was there. His hair was finely groomed, for once, which took her by surprise. She wrinkled her brow in confusion.

He extended his hand where he held a white lily and said, "This is for you, Princess."

She touched her face and looked at the lily strangely. She hesitated, not knowing how to react and said lamely, "Uh, thanks."

Jiraiya caressed her cheeks in his hands and gazed at her intensely. He drew close with his lips parted. Tsunade felt revulsion and something else she couldn't identify -- panic? Just as she was lost in thought, Jiraiya's soft moist lips touched hers. She tried to protest, but she was unable to control herself. She screamed inside her mind, '_No! Not him! Kami protect me!_'

The dream world faded, and Tsunade woke from her dream. Her nightgown was dewy with cold sweat. She clenched her teeth and felt tears of shame trickle down. This was followed by a feeling of embarrassment, and confusion as she covered her face in her pillow and hit it, crying, "Why Jiraiya? Why?" She threw her pillow aside and slid out of bed.

She paced, rubbing her shoulders nervously, trying her best to get rid of the nightmare. She walked by a window and stared out at the inky black sky. A moonbeam barely lit up the ground outside. She wanted to look at something, to vanquish the thoughts in her head, and to find a way to forget the experience. She was angry at herself because, even with her disgust, some part of her enjoyed the sensation of the kiss.

She shakily walked into the kitchen and opened up a cupboard. It contained some roots stashed away which could induce sleep. She grabbed a kettle, filled it with water, and turned on the flame on her stove. She put the roots into her bowl-shaped mortar and ground them up with her heavy wooden pestle. After the roots became pulpy, she put the pulp into a small basket which had a clasp on it to keep it closed and dropped it into a teapot. The kettle began to whistle on the stove. She walked over and pulled it off the flame. She brought it over to her teapot and poured in the hot water. She let it steep while groggily talking to herself, "I'm just overreacting. I shouldn't let him get to me." She shifted the little root-filled basket around in the hot water. Eventually, the water became bluish and smelled a little like mint. She breathed in the steam a little and started to feel a bit more relaxed. She grabbed one of her teacups and carefully poured the hot liquid from the teapot into her cup. She sat down and sipped on it, looking around the kitchen languidly. She yawned.

Footsteps came in from around the corner and her little brother walked in. He was short, maybe five years old, and his hair was sticking up all over the place from having just woken up. He rubbed his tired eyes and whined, "Onee-san, the kettle woke me up."

Tsunade apologetically smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Nawaki-chan. Come sit down next to me. I'll let you have some of my tea."

The little boy shuffled over to his big sister and sat on the chair next to her. She put a cup in front of him and poured the blue liquid into it. He looked thankful and said, "Arigato, Onee-san." He thought that the liquid looked a little strange, but it smelled good, and he was a little thirsty. He took a sip.

"I'm sorry I woke you up." Tsunade said after sipping and setting her cup down, "I'm just nervous about the Genin test tomorrow."

"Are you really a ninja?"

"Hai," Tsunade replied, smiling. She put her arm around him and asked, "Are you proud of me?"

"Hai." Nawaki said, nodding and smiling. He wiped his eyes and yawned.

"You are still very tired. Do you want to sleep with onee-san tonight?"

He nodded. He put his tea down on the table and stood up, then put his arms out for her.

She picked him up and took him to her room and laid him down on her bed. She smiled sweetly when she saw his eyes were already closed. She yawned, stretched, and pulled the blankets over both of them then drifted off to sleep.

The next morning was difficult. Jiraiya was up so early in anticipation that he didn't eat breakfast. Tsunade ate, but _wished _she hadn't. She was queasy after recalling her nightmare. When everyone arrived at the meeting location, she was so disgusted; she couldn't look at him without feeling ill. Orochimaru looked at both of them as they lined up at the meeting place. He smirked when he saw Jiraiya's discomfort.

Jiraiya clutched his stomach. He yelled, "Sensei, I'm starving!"

Orochimaru groaned, "Be a man, baka. Stop crying like a baby."

Hiruzen rose his hand to silence the two and said solemnly, "Today, you will all prove to Konoha you are ready to follow the principles of Nindo and work as a team. The results of this determine if you will make Genin rank and become a commissioned ninja."

Tsunade frowned and raised her hand and said, "How are we supposed to work as a team? I can't stand Jiraiya."

Orochimaru agreed. Jiraiya folded his arms and protested, "I deserve to be here as much as either of you."

"I'm well aware of how you two feel, but this is a test. Monagatari-san is here _because _you don't want him to be." Hiruzen said, "In battle, it is common to overcome personal differences and build bonds that could never be forged otherwise. I will test your ability to follow this basic principle."

Jiraiya thought gleefully, '_And this is my chance to get close to my Princess._'

Hiruzen continued, "This is a standard test. You must take these bells from me before noon." His hand brushed against two small bells on his utility belt and he continued, "You will only need _one _bell to pass. Since there are only two bells here, the one that doesn't get a bell does not get to eat lunch. Furthermore, the one that fails will be tied to a tree stump while I eat my lunch right in front of them. That person will also be sent back to the academy. Any questions?"

The teenagers looked at each other and shook their heads.

"The test begins... now!" Hiruzen said, then clapped his hands together and summoned a wind which blew him high over the trees.

Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya split up.

Orochimaru leapt to a tree and stuck his kunai in his mouth. His green eyes scanned the field and other trees for a sign of Sensei. He saw Jiraiya below, wandering around on foot. From the academy training, this was an obvious mistake. '_Baka.' Orochimaru thought, 'Sarutobi-sensei will see you.'_

Sure enough, Hiruzen sprung out of the ground from behind Jiraiya and held a kunai to the boy's throat. He leaned over and said, "A ninja never gives away his position."

Tsunade jumped from a nearby tree and took advantage of Hiruzen's distraction by running towards him. He did a few seals with his hands, clapped them together and a giant earthen mound sprung up in front of him, blocking her path. Tsunade energized her legs with chakra and leapt up to the top of the mound, but Hiruzen disappeared. She turned around a few times looking for him, but failed to see him. She realized that her position was compromised, so she somersaulted off the mound and ran to some bushes quickly.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was up to his neck in a mud mound summoned around him. He felt completely humiliated to be seen like that in front of Tsunade.

Orochimaru watched silently. His instincts told him there was something not right. After a minute, the mound next to Jiraiya's reduced to nothing and Hiruzen jumped out of it. Orochimaru smiled to himself and dropped down to the base of the tree he was in. He peered around the corner and watched Hiruzen tap on Jiraiya's mud mound. "Maybe you should give up, Jiraiya. You're not cut out to be a ninja."

"I'll never give up!" Jiraiya yelled angrily. He struggled uselessly against the hardened clay.

Hiruzen laughed and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Tsunade found herself trying not to laugh, despite the seriousness of the test.

Much of the rest of the test went on like this. Orochimaru, Jiraiya or Tsunade would end up taking turns being trapped or humiliated in battles and getting an earful about what they did wrong by their Sensei. In the end, _none_ of them were able to get the bells.

Jiraiya walked by a rock and spotted some food. Just as he headed towards it, another rope coiled around his leg and he hit his head on a branch. The world went dark. When he opened his eyes, he was tied to a stump. He struggled, and tried to free himself, but the ropes were tied too well.

Tsunade and Orochimaru walked around the corner of a nearby boulder. They were scratched, bruised, and generally worse for wear. The most obvious thing was the way their pride looked to be hurt. Tsunade frowned in a near-pout. Even Orochimaru looked somehow worn down. When Tsunade saw Jiraiya, her mood immediately improved and she burst out laughing.

Jiraiya was incredibly embarrassed by being seen that way. "It's not funny!" He yelled, but soon he was laughing along with her.

"You are really a baka, Monogatari-san." Tsunade said, giggling. Both of them felt better, despite the troubles they've had.

Hiruzen appeared from behind the same boulder. He looked unhappy. He said, seriously, "The results of the test is that none of you will need to return to the academy."

Everyone looked relieved.

Orochimaru looked confused, "But none of us retrieved the bells."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "I don't understand this test, Sensei."

"You should quit being ninjas!" Hiruzen replied, "None of you grasped the true meaning of the test. Why do you think we broke you up into groups?"

All three teens looked shocked. Hiruzen paced around them and explained, "All of you went off on your own. The point of this exercise was teamwork. On that point, you all failed miserably. If all of you worked together, you could have gotten these bells."

"There's only two bells, Sensei. There's no way working as a team would be fair. One person would always be without one." Jiraiya groused.

"That's how the test was designed. Someone had to sacrifice themselves in order to help the team. You never know what sorts of situations could happen. You might have to make a hard decision between two lives in a tough situation. This is the kind of thing a ninja may have to deal with."

Orochimaru rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "I see."

Hiruzen walked over to Jiraiya and said to the other two, "I will give you all another chance."

There were three hopeful looks from the teens.

Hiruzen continued, "However the battle for the bell will be more intense after lunch. Eat lunch only if you're ready to take on that challenge, but don't let Jiraiya eat. This is punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat lunch early. If anyone feeds him, they will immediately fail."

Hiruzen handed Orochimaru and Tsunade their lunches and walked away.

Tsunade and Orochimaru sat next to the tree stump, eating. Orochimaru could practically hear Jiraiya's stomach churning from the lack of food. He tuned his senses the area around him and didn't detect any sign of Hiruzen. He looked at the bento contemplatively and then decided aloud, "I'm going to give him some of my food."

Jiraiya said, "But you'll fail. You heard the Sensei. I'm okay. I …" A loud grumbling from his belly could be heard.

Tsunade said, "You're right. In order to pass the next test, we'll need Jiraiya to have enough energy too. It's the only way."

She looked at her bento and offered it over to Jiraiya. Jiraiya wiggled his hands, but clearly could not grasp anything. She realized then that she would have to feed it to him, which was a tradition for someone with a closer relationship to a boy. She yelled, "Just because I'm going to feed you this, doesn't mean I've changed my mind about you, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya opened his mouth and Tsunade put some rice in there.

Suddenly, the ground shook. A giant dripping dragon made from mud with fiery red glowing eyes pushed up out of the ground with Hiruzen on its back. He yelled, "You broke the rules! Are you prepared for your punishment?"

Jiraiya said, "But we're a team! That's why these two fed me! To help me!"

Tsunade stood by Jiraiya and said, "Yes, that's true!"

Orochimaru said, "We have to act as a team, even now."

"We'll work together to defeat you!" Jiraiya said.

The sight of the elemental dragon was frightening to all of them. Hiruzen clapped his hands, and the dragon disappeared with a splash. He bowed to the three, and said cheerfully, "You pass!"

"We pass?" Tsunade said, incredulously.

"Yes, you all three pass."

"Why?" Jiraiya asked in confusion.

"Because, you stood up to me. You broke the rules to help your teammate. Though it is very bad in the ninja world to break the rules, it is even worse to ignore a friend in need."

Orochimaru asked, "So we're … ninjas now?"

"Yes! We'll start our first mission tomorrow!" Hiruzen said, grinning.

"Thank Kami-sama," Tsunade breathed.

Hiruzen started to walk away. Orochimaru and Tsunade joined him. It wasn't until they were quite a distance that Jiraiya realized that he was still tied to the tree, and nobody helped him get free. He gritted his teeth and fished out a kunai from his utility belt and worked the ropes with it. After finally cutting through the ropes, he ran home, happy to be a ninja.

The next morning, Jiraiya awoke with a happy grin on his face. He slurped up his breakfast quickly and ran out the door to the Hokage mansion where the team was going to meet to get their first mission.

The mission was far more involved than Jiraiya heard about from others. According to the papers in front of him, he and his team were to go on a trek to obtain missing maps for the middle continent which was far west of Konohagakure. Also, they were supposed to document the indigenous peoples that inhabited the region. Orochimaru had known Hiruzen from his childhood, so he helped plan things. After several weeks of endurance exercises and special training, they set out on their journey.

The trip to the Oyama mountain range was long since it was half a continent away from Konoha. They stayed in inns at small towns and villages when they could, and camped the rest of the time. As they approached the mountains at the higher elevations, it grew colder. Sensei had them switch clothing and gear.

The rest of the trip was over a few rarely used mountain trails. Fifty days of hiking wore the team out, so they stopped on a particularly rocky crag on the top of one of the mountain peaks with less snow and good wind protection. Jiraiya pushed his face mask up a little to cover his nose. The thin air caused him to breathe a little heavier than normal. He jumped onto a boulder and asked, panting, "How much further is it, Sensei?"

"Over there." Hiruzen said as he pointed to a distant mountain.

"Great. This mission really sucks," Jiraiya complained. He set his pack down and took out a pen and paper. After he wrote down some marks to indicate their position, he said with a frown, "That mountain we're going to is _at least _another week away."

Orochimaru snarled, "If it's too much for you, why don't you just go home?"

"Whatever you say, Oro-_chan_." Jiraiya teased, pulling his lower eyelid down and sticking his tongue out.

Orochimaru grabbed Jiraiya by his shirt and hissed, "I _told _younot to call me that."

Tsunade knew that this was going to turn into yet another fight. Tensions ran high over the long journey several times. '_These two had been going at it for two months', _she thought, '_if they don't stop, I'm going to lose it!' _

"O-ro-chan." Jiraiya mouthed slowly. He kneed Orochimaru in the shin forcefully. Orochimaru let go of him and groaned in pain.

"Stop teasing him, Jiraiya!" Tsunade yelled. She reached out her hand to help Orochimaru, but he refused it and leapt onto Jiraiya and punched him on the cheek. Then Jiraiya pulled him into a headlock and kneed him in the chest.

Hiruzen warned, "Stop this, all of you, or _I'll _end it." Both boys had their fists cocked and then moved away from each other. Hiruzen's word was final.

_'Jiraiya should know better,' _Tsunade thought with a sigh. She often wished she was paired up with more mature team members.

They began to move again through the snow, albeit slowly because drifts collected on the trail. On the sixth day, a terrible wind blew. The setting sun shone dully through a ruddy red haze as the fine dry particles of powder snow whipped all around. Sensei guessed that the temperature dropped well below freezing.

"So cold," Tsunade moaned as she put her hands in the armpits of her thick coat. Orochimaru and Jiraiya nodded in agreement.

"We had better get out of this wind, or we'll die." Hiruzen yelled through the noisy wind. "Look for a natural wall."

They searched around. After some cursing and fumbling (mostly Jiraiya), they found a cropping of rocks with deep snow next to them.

"You two boys create a snow cave." Hiruzen instructed the two rivals loudly. "Tsunade, please stand watch outside with me, in case of collapse." They dug into their packs and removed small shovels as instructed. Orochimaru dug the ice-covered snow drift and made piles of snow behind him. Jiraiya hauled it out. It took at least half an hour before a deep cave was carved out.

Everyone was eager to go inside from the cold. The team worked together to pack the snow on the walls to make it more durable. Hiruzen directed the team to create raised shelves for sleeping, and showed how to poke a hole in the roof for air. He set a burning candle on the floor for warmth. It danced and radiated a soft yellow glow against the snow walls.

Tsunade went outside to gather snow for a door. She formed a few bricks of snow and walled in the entrance, leaving some room for air. When she was done, her teeth chattered. She said. "Sensei, I'm really cold and my feet itch."

Hiruzen's eyes looked sympathetic. He pulled her gloves off and inspected her hands. They were warm enough. He pointed down at her feet and said, "Check your toes, just in case."

The blond girl's eyebrows wrinkled as she strained to pull her boot off. When she finally managed to get them off, her socks were soaked in melted snow. She pulled them off and she could see her feet were reddish. All three of her teammates looked concerned.

"Let me see your foot." Orochimaru said flatly. He examined her foot and determined that it she had the beginnings of frostbite. He opened his pack and pulled out a jar of warming salve. He smoothed the jelly on Tsunade's feet and activated its special warming properties with his chakra energy. Tsunade blushed in embarrassment. "Next time, be more careful." Orochimaru warned without smiling, "You'll jeopardize the mission if you lose half your foot."

"Thanks." She said, feeling slightly insulted and closed her eyes. Orochimaru worked mechanically to pull off her other boot and check the other foot. Tsunade gritted her teeth at the feeling of pins and needles and some pain in her feet.

Jiraiya eyes flashed with jealously as he thought, '_Here she is, ignoring me and soaking up Orochimaru's attention.'_

Hiruzen removed a scroll from his pack and said, "What do you all want for dinner?"

Jiraiya's wore a smile and replied, "I'll have some fish with rice and bean salad."

"I'll have the same." Tsunade said, noticing Jiraiya's peculiar expression.

"Rice and pickles." The dark haired boy said and repacked his medical items.

Hiruzen pulled out a scroll and invoked seals to unlock the writing on the scroll. Jars of food slipped out of their dimensional storage and appeared on the seal on the paper. The spiral symbol in the middle of the parchment glowed briefly and faded. He repeated this for each item the team requested.

Jiraiya stared at the jar with floating green blobs in it. "Yuck, pickles."

Orochimaru smirked, unscrewed the jar and ate one of the pickles. Everyone else grabbed their own food.

Tsunade ate some melted snow and asked, "So, Sensei, what can we expect when we get to there?"

Jiraiya leaned in towards her and said, "I've been wondering about that myself."

"The kingdom of Yamaguni was discovered around thirty years ago after one of our exploration balloons headed for the northern ice cap ended up with a faulty burner. A rescue team was dispatched by the kingdom to help the survivors. When they all arrived, they were amazed by the warm climate and large plants. It is said that the ground is warm to the touch due to volcanic heat. Plants in the countryside were giant sized as were many creatures that lived there."

"I don't understand. Doesn't the heat burn everything up?"

Orochimaru chewed his rice ball quietly. He was tempted to tell Jiraiya that he was an idiot. Tsunade did him the favor and said, "Jiraiya, why do you ask such stupid questions?"

Hiruzen smiled, "There are no stupid questions, Tsunade; only irrelevant ones."

"But he never stops asking them!" Tsunade protested.

Hiruzen laid a hand on her shoulder. "Asking questions is the fastest path to learning. Meditate on that." He turned to Jiraiya and said, "The source of the heat is deep underneath the surface. Some of the heat makes it all of the way up to the surface, but it has to go through layers of rock to reach it. It's kind of like having a hot water bottle underneath your pillow. The pillow insulates you from the full effect of the heat. This mountain range has an even coating of rock covering the molten rock. Over time, it may change and cause problems for the people that live here, but so far that hasn't happened."

"So, tell us about the people that live there, Sensei. What are they like?" Tsunade asked.

"The kingdom itself is governed by a parliament, much like our village council. As for the culture of the people, they are similar to us in many ways, except their complicated system of honor and lack of technology. Not much is known about the people as the explorers were only exposed to the military and some government officials. We will try to fill in these gaps in knowledge when we visit. Our first stop is meeting with the prince."

"Why are we meeting him?" Tsunade asked.

Hiruzen watched the flickering of the candle and replied, "Prince Reiki has some maps we could use. Our village lacks a diplomatic connection to make the request any easier."

Orochimaru sneered, "Screw diplomacy! We don't have time for it. Just sneak into their library and take the maps."

Jiraiya glared at him, "And when they catch us sneaking?"

Hiruzen looked at Orochimaru, "The Fire Lord was very specific about being on a peaceful mission. Acts of aggression would certainly be seen as an act of hostility or war."

"I don't see why we should listen to the Fire Lord." The pale boy stated with disgust. "Konoha is the military might of the nation. We know best what's good for security, not some fattened politician."

Jiraiya countered. "That's messed up. If you don't pick your battles, you'll screw up your chances at making an ally."

"Achieving our objective isn't messed up." Orochimaru countered then smiled coldly. "If negotiations break down, we may have to take those maps by force. I, for one, am prepared to do it. I don't need a coward like you to tell me what the right thing to do is."

Jiraiya gritted his teeth and said, "Moron. If negotiations break down, we are dead."

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya and interjected diplomatically, "I think Orochimaru is just saying that even if things don't go our way, we must try to meet our objectives, no matter what the cost is. That is Nindo, isn't it?"

Hiruzen sighed morosely at Orochimaru, "War is inevitable for our village, sooner or later. We just can't afford to start new wars right now. There are too many countries that would take the opportunity to stab us in the back while we're engaged in war with another."

The pale teen leaned against an ice shelf, "War is also our primary source of business, Sensei. Isn't that what the Chuunin selection is about? A show of power? For someone so versed in ways of killing a man, 'Professor', I'd expect you to agree."

"If you tip the vessel of power too much, Orochimaru, you may spill and lose everything." Hiruzen said seriously.

"Peaceful people grow fat and useless over time. They leave themselves open to slaughter in a real conflict."

Hiruzen removed his hat and shook his head at Orochimaru. "I'm done talking about this subject for now." He turned to the rest. "Everyone get some sleep. According to my calculations, we have three more days of traveling before we reach the territory of Yamaguni." He reached into his bag and pulled out a scroll. After some seals, the scroll produced blankets and thick insulating bags from a dimensional locker.

Everyone grabbed their bags and blankets and climbed into them. Jiraiya turned on his side away from everyone. He was sad because he could never get up the courage to confess his feelings completely to Tsunade.

Exhaustion overtook the team and they all slept soundly.


	2. Chapter 2 Hidden Village

**Chapter 2 – Hidden Village**

Morning sunlight crept in through the cracks in the snow door and the cave. Hiruzen finished sealing up all of the blankets into the storage scroll. After eating some breakfast and packing everything away, they resumed their trek. They were only a day away from the border to the Yamaguni. Boots crunched down on snow for most of the trip until they reached a point where it thinned out.

Three hours later, there wasn't any snow to be found along the trail. Shrubs and dried out trees sparsely covered the mountainside and then yielded to much greener foliage and warmer air. They stopped at a viewpoint which overlooked a valley below, nestled high up between the mountain they were on and three others. Even more spectacular was the river fed by glacial melt which cut through the middle of the valley and then dropped off at a steep cliff near one of the mountains. An unnaturally warm wind blew up from the valley, which puzzled everyone. They were all thinking, '_How could it be so warm so high up?'_

"This is amazing!" Tsunade exclaimed with a gasp as she surveyed the panorama.

Jiraiya threw his pack down, tore off his fur jacket, and changed into his warm weather clothing. Before anyone could object, he yelled, "I want to see it! Come on, guys!"

"Hold on, Jiraiya!" Hiruzen yelled, switching his clothing too. It was no use trying to convince Jiraiya to wait. By the time he was dressed in lighter clothing, Jiraiya was too far to see clearly.

"Dammit, that baka." Tsunade cursed angrily. "He could have just waited for us."

A white goat moved down the mountainside onto the dirt trail farther up ahead. On the edge of the trail was a patch of juicy wild celery it hadn't seen before. The goat bleated with joy and began to graze on the luscious foliage. It had a truly wonderful morning full of frolicking and mating so far, and the joy of finding good food was even better. It grazed lazily on the celery until it heard a suspicious noise coming from around the corner. Suddenly, a large idiot barreled around the corner and tripped over it with a foot caught on its body. Jiraiya screamed and the goat bleated in panic as they both fell over the cliff. Jiraiya's head glanced a rock on the way down, rendering him unconscious. The goat angrily glared at Jiraiya's inert body in mid-air as it plummeted to its doom.

Some time later, Jiraiya opened his eyes and looked around. He felt stiff but relatively uninjured. A strange looking amphibian looked at him strangely and asked, "Are you okay?" It was a frog, and a very human-like one. It had a little white beard and was wearing robes, like a human.

Jiraiya couldn't believe his eyes. He was surrounded by giant leaves, mushrooms, and pond water. He felt his chest and body in confusion. He remembered falling to his death, but the rest was a blank. He asked the talking frog the obvious question out loud, "How did I survive the fall?"

"I intervened." The bearded frog said with a proud smile. Behind him was another frog in a kimono and what looked like some kind of wig.

Jiraiya blinked in even more confusion. He squinted at the frog and asked slowly, "Where am I?"

"You're at Myouboku Mountain," The frog with the wig explained in a feminine voice.

"What's your name, young'n?" The male frog asked.

"My name is Monogatari Jiraiya from Konohagakure. Who are you?"

"I'm Fukasaku. This is my wife, Shima." He answered, gesturing to the lady frog next to him. "Most of the youngsters around here just call us Ma and Pa."

"Uh, nice to meet you." Jiraiya said politely then couldn't help but stare at Ma and Pa. "I've never met talking frogs before."

Pa scowled and said, "I've never seen a talking monkey, either." He poked Jiraiya in the chest with his walking stick.

Ma scolded, "Pa, that's no way to treat a guest!"

"I'm sorry." Jiraiya said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm just not used to all of this."

"Why don't you join us for supper, Jiraiya-chan?" Ma asked. "We can get to know each other better."

"You don't mind?" The young man asked doubtfully. He was surprised to be called on a first name basis right away by these creatures.

"Of course not." Ma replied.

"Okay. I could use something to eat. Thank you...thank you very much!" Jiraiya said enthusiastically. The two frogs started walking down a cobblestone walkway. There, only a few paces, was a charming little cottage. When they went inside, everything was in miniature.

Jiraiya was told to find a seat at the table. Ma set down chopsticks next to him and then came back in with a steaming pot. She set it down on the table and took a big sniff of the contents. She smiled happily and said, "Perfect!" Pa brought some bowls out and set one in front of Jiraiya, who by now was salivating in hunger.

Ma took a ladle and started heaping something into the bowl. Jiraiya nearly puked when he saw what it was. It was a mash of insect parts in some kind of green gruel. Summoning all of his strength, he ate it. The taste wasn't nearly so bad, but the sight was nasty.

After dinner, Pa and Jiraiya were sitting on a lily pad overlooking a big pond. Pa turned to the young man and asked, "What do you do in Konoha?"

"I'm a Shinobi. I help protect the village and my country from harm."

Pa scoffed, "You don't move like one."

Jiraiya crossed his arms defensively in indignation and said, "How would you know? You don't know me."

Pa looked at him up and down. "Okay. Show me something, then, Mr. Shinobi."

Jiraiya stood up, about to perform a jutsu and tripped, landing face-first in the pond. His clothes became soaked with a moist green film. He yelled out a curse.

Pa laughed hysterically, "Here, kid. Let me show you something." He leaped off the pad and landed on the water and started to walk around on top of it.

Jiraiya's mouth dropped, and he wiped his eyes to get a clearer view. He had seen ninjas use chakra to stick to trees before, but nothing dealing with water like this.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out before. Many frogs are able to do this shortly after developing their hind legs."

"Please teach me!" Jiraiya yelled, bowing and clapping his hands in a begging posture.

Pa helped Jiraiya out of the water with surprising strength. He sat down next to the very wet young man and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't accept a student who isn't a member of my clan."

Jiraiya looked puzzled, "You mean I have to be a frog?"

"No. There are other ways, but it involves a lifetime commitment. There is a contract you could sign as a sign of kinship to our kind. It is forever binding. Signing it also grants some of our power."

"Are there any downsides?" Jiraiya said, scratching his beardless chin.

Pa paced around Jiraiya then answered seriously, "As a clan member, you would be forever our servant if we should need you, and vice-versa."

Jiraiya smiled and yelled, "Cool! Can you do it now?"

Pa patted the boy's arm and said, "Patience, Jiraiya-chan. This is no small matter. Do you think we allow just anyone to join? In order to accept you, we must gain the approval of the Great Sage."

Jiraiya looked at Pa and sighed. "Okay, so when?"

"We can talk about it at our next meeting."

"Okay, when is that?"

Pa cracked Jiraiya over the head with his cane and said, "That's when. I'll come get you when it's time, monkey boy."

Jiraiya took a rock and skipped it across the pond. He hated waiting.

Not a sound was made outside, save the muffled wind blowing against the wooden roof. Floorboards creaked slightly as a shadowy figure crept towards Jiraiya's sleeping form. Jiraiya snored as he flipped over on his back on the goose-feather bed. He was soundly asleep; he didn't notice the movement from the floor to his chest and the subsequent weight there. Two flippered feet and a cane dug into his breast. The old frog that belonged to them shook his head and thought, '_What a lazy child._' He tapped his foot impatiently, smacking Jiraiya a few times on the chin. He hit Jiraiya's head hard with his webbed toes. Jiraiya blinked and looked around.

"It's about time you woke up." The venerable amphibian said, crossly.

"What time is it?" Jiraiya asked in confusion and scanned the room, "It's still dark out!"

"We're surrounded by high cliffs. There's hardly ever any real light here. Now get up! I have some chores for you."

Jiraiya sat up, rubbing his eyes and grumbled, "Okay, okay." He rubbed his bleary eyes, jumped out of bed and dressed himself. He banged his knee on the bedpost. The pain shot through his leg and he screamed, "Son of a bitch!"

"Don't curse!" Ma shouted from her bedroom.

"Sorry, Ma." Jiraiya said as his eyes watered from the pain. For some reason, he had a blind spot for beds. He preferred a simple mat with a pillow. After splashing some water on his face and toweling off, he put himself together and exited the front door. Pa was outside at the rocky path just outside, standing by a handcart with a casket on it and a large lamp on a post. He held a nozzle in his stubby webbed hand and moved it near a hole on the lamp. In his other hand was a pump attached to a casket where the hose was attached. He pushed the pump up and down and a viscous fluid squirted into the lamp's hole. He stopped, motioned to Jiraiya to come to him and set down the nozzle.

"Keeping oil in the lamps is one of the things you have to do every morning." Pa said. He showed Jiraiya how to work the nozzle and the pump, said, "Come see me after you finish," and hopped off.

Jiraiya sighed and went around the village filling oil lamps. Every now and then a frog would be curious about him and fuss over how different he looked. He even made a few friends in the village.

After a few days keeping the oil lamps filled and lit, Jiraiya was on a first name basis with a few frogs he met along the way. He enjoyed their company, but worry about the fate of his team kept its grip on him. He decided to ask Pa if he knew of a way to see them or find out how they were.

Pa chewed on his pipe, pondering the question. "Yamaguni, eh?" He asked, "The person you want to talk to would be the Great Sage."

"You mentioned this 'Great Sage' before, but I don't know where to find him. Weren't you going to talk to him about the contract?"

Ma came out of the cottage with a bucket. She pulled open a lid in the ground and poured the leftover soup into it.

"Oh, that's right. The contract. It slipped my mind." Pa laughed, slightly distracted by his wife.

Jiraiya's jaw clenched, "You mean to tell me I've been doing all of these odd jobs and you weren't going to ask the Great Sage about me?"

Pa smacked Jiraiya with his cane and said with an accusatory finger wagging, "You will learn respect, Jiraiya-chan. You're a guest here, but that doesn't mean I won't put you in your place."

Jiraiya rubbed the angry lump that started to form on his head and sighed, "Yes, Pa. Can you at least tell me who or what the Great Sage is?"

Pa explained, "Ma and I look after him. He's very old."

"What makes him 'Great'? Is he the leader of the village?"

Ma replied, "There are many reasons why is he 'Great'. Most of all, he is respected for being very wise, but he is quite senile. I don't know if he'll be able to help you."

"May I see him?" Jiraiya asked, politely.

Pa chewed on his unlit pipe and said, "You seem trustworthy, but I don't know."

Ma covered Pa's mouth and said, "Of course you can."

Everyone went back inside of the cottage. The frogs put on their little coats and Ma put on her hat. They led Jiraiya down the main road towards the village hub. Curious eyes watched their passing down the road. A few frogs waved at Jiraiya.

Eventually, they came to a large pond with a perimeter of pillars. Beyond it, stone monuments of ancient frogs in various poses surrounded a dais.

Pa paused and turned towards Jiraiya, "The Great Sage is a respected being. Don't say anythin' weird."

Jiraiya nodded carefully and approached a plain stone chair with a very ancient toad of considerable size and wrinkles. Ma and Pa walked ahead and bowed deeply in front of the toad. After some discussion Jiraiya couldn't hear, they came back.

Pa said, "Jiraiya-chan, the Great Sage will have an audience with you now."

Jiraiya was nervous but walked up to the throne and bowed his head reverently.

"It is nice to finally meet you, Jiraiya-chan." The Great Sage said.

Jiraiya kept his head bent, "I am glad to have met you also, Great Sage."

"Proceed."

"I was with a group in Yamaguni about a week ago. I lost my way and was separated from them. I was hoping you could tell me how my team is doing. They're headed towards Yamaguni."

The elongated and wrinkled lips of the old toad said, "I think I can help. Fetch me my crystal, Shima."

Ma hopped to the center of the dais. A stone carving of a frog arm jutted out of the stonework where she stood. Gripped inside the sculpture's webbed fingers was a blue crystalline ball. Ma clapped her hands with her eyes closed and the stone hand loosened its grip on the ball. She brought the orb to the Great Sage. As she moved, the patterns in the crystal swirled iridescently.

The crystal was placed on a blue pillow on the toad's lap. "Ah, yes. Thank you." The raspy voice of the ancient frog said, like a giant creaky door being opened slowly. The Great Sage manipulated his hands into seal gestures over the crystal and closed his eyes. His pupils moved rapidly under his eyelids. After opening them again, he said, "I think I've located them."

Jiraiya clapped his hands in excitement and asked, "Where are they?"

The old frog looked confused, "They?"

Jiraiya frowned as he realized the old creature really was senile. He sighed and explained, "My friends."

The Great Sage took a deep breath and touched his head with his webbed hand, as though trying to clear his thoughts. He looked at Jiraiya and asked, "Have we met?"

Pa shook his head.

Jiraiya felt blushed and said, "I'm Jiraiya, remember? You were going to tell me about my friends."

The old toad coughed and said, "Ah yes, I see them now." Blue swirls of lights danced from the crystal ball and lit up the giant frog's features. He studied the ball's mystic energies some more and then said, "Your friends are talking to someone in a castle."

Jiraiya stood up and asked, "Are they okay?"

"It's difficult to see." The Great Sage answered. He squinted harder then exclaimed softly, "Oh dear! I see restraints. I think they're being held prisoner."

Pa became very impatient and grumbled, "Let me see, you senile old toad." He leaned over and looked at the crystal. Sure enough, there were three people chained to the floor in a prison. Pa said, "It is Prince Reiki's castle, and they are definitely prisoners."

Jiraiya couldn't understand it. He said, more to himself than anyone else, "But we were on a peaceful mission. I don't understand."

Pa explained, "You don't get put in there unless you've broken some law."

The word "law" stuck in Jiraiya's mind. He recalled the conversation he had with Orochimaru about what he would do if Yamaguni didn't surrender their maps. Jiraiya gritted his teeth and growled, "Orochimaru!"

The three amphibians looked at Jiraiya in confusion.

Jiraiya pointed to the crystal ball and explained, "The pale one in the corner is Orochimaru. He thought stealing the maps was necessary if Yamaguni didn't give them up voluntarily." He paused then said, "I can't help but wonder if the prince was protecting the secret of your people by refusing to give the maps over. Orochimaru said he'd steal them if they didn't hand them over."

Pa shook his head. "I don't reckon any human alive knows us anymore, Jiraiya-chan. We're not on any map." A rumbling sound started emitting from the Great Sage's chest. Everyone looked up to see his head was slumped over and he was sleeping. Ma shrugged and put the crystal ball away.

Jiraiya paced around the marble dais. Ma and Pa looked on. Jiraiya said, "I need to save my team, but I can't possibly go up that high from here without a long journey. Do you know of a quicker way?"

Pa nodded and said, "Ma go fetch the contract."

"Are you sure?" Ma asked seriously, leaving Jiraiya in the dark about its purpose.

"This may be the last time I have a student." Pa said resolutely and began to poke at The Great Sage with his stick. "Wake up, ya old croaker."

The Great Sage woke up and said, "I'm sorry. Where was I?"

"Great Sage, I am formally requesting Jiraiya take the oath of the clan."

The old toad looked at Pa and then at Jiraiya. "Who are you?"

Jiraiya groaned and shook his head. Ma fetched a huge scroll and unraveled it. Pa turned to the Great Sage and said, "Jiraiya-chan has accepted the terms. Will ya yield and grant him the request?"

"Do you understand the terms of the contract, Jiraiya-chan?" The Great Sage asked seriously.

"No!" Jiraiya said, looking at Ma and Pa in confusion. "What is this contract?"

Pa replied, "Jiraiya-chan, by signing this contract, you will inherit powers that only our kind possesses and are effectively a member of the frog clan."

The ancient toad slammed his staff down ceremoniously and pointed it at Jiraiya. "You must prick your skin and write your name on this parchment in blood."

Jiraiya looked dubiously at the contract scroll. The signature line was blank. He looked up at the toads and asked, "Has anyone ever signed this before?"

"No." Pa replied for the others. "You are the first."

Jiraiya nervously bit his thumb. Swirls of red liquid came to the surface of the broken skin. He winced then wrote his name on the scroll. When he was done, he looked up at Pa.

Pa smiled, "Congratulations. You have not only been granted new powers, but you will also become my student."

"Hai, Sensei," Jiraiya said, bowing in recognition of his new place as a student, "but why did I have to sign this?"

"To solve your problem..." Pa said, concentrating his chakra energies. With a poof, the world disappeared and reappeared in front of them, only it wasn't the same place they had been. There was a huge castle with wrought iron gates and two guards standing in front of either side.

Jiraiya nearly fell over from astonishment and asked Pa, "What happened?"

Pa patted the dust from his robes. "I used a reverse summon on you and I. Only those who have signed the contract can use this technique. You should go inside and see how your friends are."

"Are you coming with me?"

"Nope." Pa smiled. "I'll summon you back in one week. Go help your friends and come back for your training." He made a seal and in another poof of smoke, was gone.


	3. Chapter 3 Imprisonment

**Chapter 3 - Imprisonment**

As Jiraiya approached the entrance to the castle, he was able to see the guards a little more closely. They wore light raiment with ornate designs and held onto highly sharpened halberds with finely etched symbols on them. One of them noticed the strange way Jiraiya showed up.

"Uh, hello." Jiraiya said nervously. "Some people from my village are being held in this castle. I'd like to talk with the person in charge."

"Ah, yes. They are being held pending trial." The taller guard answered then sneered derisively, "Apparently they didn't know that stealing was against the law." Both of them laughed.

Jiraiya flushed angrily, but kept his tones respectful, "I am here to find out why they are held."

"Go see the solicitor, Argil. She should be in the courtroom at this time of day."

Jiraiya walked inside and located the office of the solicitor after asking around. A woman with white robes greeted him at the door.

"Hello, I am Argil Hiromi." She said with a bow.

Jiraiya bowed in return. "Monogatari Jiraiya."

"What can I help you with, Monogatari-san?"

Jiraiya stared at her. The woman was an attractive with long dark hair and deep blue eyes. She noticed his stare. She asked with an indiscernible smirk and slight embarrassment, "Well?"

"My envoy from Konoha was taken into your custody recently. I represent Konoha's interests and would like to formally apologize for any improprieties they may have incurred."

Solicitor Argil's sculptured eyebrow rose slightly. "Aren't you a little young to be a diplomat?" She set down a book she had been holding onto a small table and crossed her legs.

Jiraiya gulped, then said defiantly, "I'm no diplomat…I am…" He searched for the right words then said, "The Legendary Toad Sage, Jiraiya!"

Argil laughed, "Legendary?"

Jiraiya danced around with different poses and said, "I am a friend to the weak, and enemy of evil..." His poses grew more ridiculous which charmed Hiromi. She grinned ear to ear. She gestured for Jiraiya to stop and waved her hand, "Okay, so you're the _Great and Legendary_ Jiraiya. I believe you. What do you want me for?"

"I want to make a deal."

"Go on..."

Jiraiya looked the woman in the eyes and said seriously, "My freedom for theirs."

Argil and Jiraiya walked through a stone corridor to a guard station. A guard with heavy raiment stood next to a door. Hiromi nodded at him, and he opened the door.

After walking through a few turns, they stopped in front of another guard in front of yet another door. This door had a piece of paper stuck to it with wards written on it. Jiraiya had never seen such methods used to keep prisoners in before. This guard was sitting at a desk and said, "I see the prisoners have company. This special key opens the door, Solicitor General. We took special precautions to ward away ninjutsu in there, just in case." He handed a key with an embossed tag attached to it to Argil. She accepted the key and inserted it into the heavy metal lock inset on the door. The inner tumblers made some noises, followed by the loud clang of metal.

Argil turned, gestured, and said, "Come with me, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya smiled at Argil's use of his first name. He said, "May I call you Hiromi?"

Argil glared, "No, you may not." then she laughed at seeing Jiraiya's shocked expression. She whispered conspiratorially, "Yes, you may, but only in private." Jiraiya followed her through the next corridor. She started down the stairs. At the bottom there was a thick black iron door. Hiromi, as Jiraiya knew her now, knocked on it and a plate slid open. She projected her voice through the hole and announced who she was. The door opened, and a large guard with many tattoos on his arms ushered everyone in.

Hiromi handed the large man some scrolls and said, "Here is the judgment for the transaction, Hiroshi."

The light-skinned hulk of a man read the papers and said, "Follow me." He walked over to the next room. Two other guards were by a cell door. Hiroshi nodded to them and they unlocked the cell door and ushered them in.

Inside the dark cell, Tsunade was crouched on the floor with manacles. Her face lit up when she saw Jiraiya. She said, "Oh thank Kami-sama you're not dead!" Jiraiya was touched by Tsunade's concern for him, but the feeling couldn't cover up his despair over what he would have to tell her.

Jiraiya put on his best face and answered, "I'm glad to see you're doing fine, too."

Hiromi said, "Guards, release the prisoners."

The three in the cell looked around in confusion. The guard began to remove the chains from the prisoners. Hiruzen asked, "Why are we being let go?"

"Jiraiya pleaded with the judge to let you go, in exchange for his freedom." Hiromi replied matter-of-factly.

Tsunade rubbed her wrists where the chains made red marks and rubbed them. Emotionally, being confined inside the cell for almost a week weighed heavily on her, as did her conscience for what she allowed to happen to get them in that situation. Moreover, this joke of a boy wanted to take her place and die there. '_Is this the same guy I punched for repeatedly hitting on me?' _she thought,_ 'Was I wrong about him?_' She looked at his face with regret and shame. He looked back, and it was the expression of heartbreak and sadness. She tore her eyes from him before she cried tears of defeat against her own feelings for him. She couldn't allow herself to get involved with him, even if he laid his life down for her. She was too proud.

Orochimaru on the other hand, couldn't care less. He commented, "You are always the martyr, Jiraiya, and never the hero."

Jiraiya frowned with a stiff lip at Orochimaru, "I should have been there to knock some sense into you, you bastard. I wouldn't have let you get away with this."

Tsunade cried in frustration, "I am so sick of this endless fighting!"

The guard fastened irons onto Jiraiya's legs and hands. Jiraiya wished he was back in his frog village with his adopted family. He stared at the floor and felt tears threaten to fall. He looked up at Tsunade and said bitterly, "You won't have to worry about that anymore, will you, Princess?"

Tsunade drew a ragged breath and willed her heart to stop beating in her eardrums from the sadness and embarrassment; her sinuses burned with the threat of tears. She knew it was her fault Jiraiya was doing this. Now she couldn't do anything about it. She felt so far below him, too. Nobody had ever sacrificed themselves to save her life like that. She never liked feeling obligated to someone, and she directed the anger she had at herself at Jiraiya. She yelled, "Baka! Why do you have to be some kind of hero?"

Hiruzen held his hand out to her, "Tsunade...don't."

Tsunade pulled her shoulder away angrily and said, "No! Get your hand off me!" She turned to Jiraiya and said, "You should have just left us here! I hate you!" A guard grabbed Tsunade's arm and began to lead her out of the room.

Jiraiya felt his heart burn and he muttered, "Just leave, then."

Hiromi said, "I think it's time for you _all_ to leave. Visitation time is over." She gestured to the sentries to take the prisoners out.

One of the guards opened the door and led Tsunade out. As they neared the doorway, she screamed, "You're going to die in there, you baka!"

Hiromi looked at Orochimaru and said, "You are going to be escorted." The black haired teen grinned ferally at Jiraiya as he was led out. Hiromi's eyes scanned over Orochimaru. "Hiroshi, you take this one. I don't like the way he looks." Hiroshi smiled in understanding.

"Bye, Oro-chan." Jiraiya said with a grimace and a wave.

Hiruzen addressed Hiromi, "Could I have a few words with Jiraiya before I leave?"

Hiromi said, "I'll allow it. I'll wait outside." Hiromi smiled at Jiraiya just before leaving the room. The remaining sentry waited outside the door.

Hiruzen wanted to say something to Jiraiya, but was at a loss of what to tell the young man.

Jiraiya decided to speak first, "I know what you're going to say, Sensei."

"What did you think I was going to say?"

"I don't know. Lecture me about throwing my life away or something."

Hiruzen shook his head. "No. What you did was honorable."

"Thanks." Jiraiya said as he tested his manacles. "Do you think they'd kill me for what you guys did?"

"The charge was theft and assault. If they're anything like Konoha, then you may be here for a few years. Nobody was killed. I don't know, really."

"I see." Jiraiya said, sitting on a stone bench. He forced a smile and said, "I hope Hiromi-chan comes to visit me here before I am killed."

Hiruzen smiled somewhat, trying to hide his concern.

Hiromi returned. The sentry standing near the door flanked behind her then motioned for Hiruzen to follow him. The two of them left, leaving Hiromi and Jiraiya alone.

The dark haired beauty pulled up a chair from the other room and sat next to Jiraiya. She regarded Jiraiya with a pleasant smile.

Jiraiya smiled back and said, "Hiromi-chan, could you see me every day just to make sure I don't escape?"

Hiromi smiled more, "I like you, but that won't be necessary."

"You mean I'll be executed?"

"As soon as your friends leave, you're a free man." Hiromi laughed gleefully, covering her mouth modestly.

Jiraiya gasped, "What?"

"You're free." Hiromi repeated herself.

"Free? As in…free to leave?"

"Yes, but I have one condition." Hiromi said with a blush and a smile.

"I knew there had to be a catch." Jiraiya deduced, "What condition?"

"I get to hug the adorable 'legend' before he goes." Hiromi said with a smile.

The thirteen year old boy smiled, "I'd love to."

Hiromi gave Jiraiya a big hug. She smiled and said, "You're very cute." She left and returned with a piping hot dinner and some comfortable bedding. She walked towards the door, stood there for a moment and said, "Make yourself comfortable; I know it's been a long day. Oh, and be sure to get a map from the library before you leave." She dropped a stamped document next to him and added, "I don't want you to lose your way. Be sure to visit again sometime." She walked out the door.

Jiraiya looked at the scroll, stunned by Hiromi's generosity. It was a writ allowing him to take a map from the library. He grinned as he realized he was going to complete the mission. Best of all, Orochimaru would look bad.


	4. Chapter 4 The Prophecy

**Chapter 4 –The Prophecy**

Jiraiya woke with a start. He felt great. It took him a moment to remember that he was in a cell in the basement of a castle. The room was dark. He felt sure it was morning. He peered around in the dim light and found a pile of fresh clothes next to his bed. '_Hiromi is really nice,_' He thought with a smile. He grabbed his gear and his writ and headed out the open doorway. Once he made it outside, he asked for directions from one of the guards standing outside, and was told where to find the library. He walked in that direction and found himself in front of a large building with stone facades, statues, and a garden outside the entrance.

Inside, a long gray marble counter stretched around an office area. A thin woman with glasses flipped through a book. Jiraiya assumed she was the person he had to talk to.

"Do you have a map of the area?"

She lowered her glasses, looked at him and asked, "Would that be regional or local?"

"Uh…regional. I need something that shows the whole country."

"I think I have just what you need. Let me go get it." She said, and then left. After a few minutes, she returned with a scroll. "This is the one you requested." Jiraiya handed her the writ. She studied it and said, "I see. Well, you may go ahead and take that map. If you need anything else, just ask."

"Thanks." He replied. He unrolled the map carefully and looked at it. Myouboku Mountain was nowhere on the document. '_So much for my theory about Prince Reiki protecting the toads from my team_,' he thought. He rolled it up and put it into his sack. He looked around. The library was huge. There was a staircase on the other end of the courtyard area that followed the circular shape of the room upwards. Some bookshelves were three stories tall. Being a budding writer and an avid reader, he couldn't resist taking a look around.

He spent most of the rest of the week staying in town and returning to the library every day. His exploration of the library turned up very little about his frog friends, but there were some old books on spiritualism. One in particular caught his eye. It was entitled, "Animal Realms of Enlightenment". In its pages there was a description of astral realms where lived ancient beings who held sovereignty over each animal type in the world. It was believed that these beings could grant powers from the realm they ruled over. Jiraiya wondered if the contract he signed was related to the animal realms. He made some notes on a book with blank pages on what he discovered.

He was starting to feel hungry, so he left the library. When he stepped outside, a cloud exploded near him and Pa frog stepped out. He fell down on his rear-end in surprise. He clutched his chest, breathed heavy and said, "You scared me half to death. Can't you poof quieter?"

Pa frowned and said, "No! Now let's return home and finish your training."

"How long will that take?"

"Stop asking stupid questions. Only I will know when you're ready." The old frog waved his arms and with a seal, caused the two of them to vanish.

There were many things Jiraiya grew to understand and respect about the art of jutsu that he hadn't before. There were many things the frogs knew that had been kept secret since time immemorial. Jiraiya was given this sacred gift and proved over the last three years he was ready to use it wisely. Ma babied him like he was a child, fussed over him and made him disgusting meals from the bodies of insects. There were some aspects of the dietary needs of the frogs that took time to get used to.

Jiraiya's side interest in writing also took off. He found that life in the small village didn't fill his appetite for adventure, so he started making up new ones from his imagination. On one particular day, He decided to start writing a novel, so he bought a blank book of paper at one of the local shops in town. It had a leather binding and beautiful designs on the cover. He pried open the crisp pages of the book to the first entry, uncapped his inkwell and dipped his pen in. After thinking about what he wanted to write about, his pen began to glide across the page. Abstract thoughts turned into stories, and by the end of the day, he was exhausted but satisfied.

After several weeks of writing, Jiraiya began to run out of new ideas. He decided to take a walk to clear his head. He took his writing instruments with him in case he had an idea to jot down. As he shuffled slowly and contemplatively down the road, he noticed a few young frogs hopping around a pond. A lady frog was watching over them. She noticed him and said, "Hello Jiraiya-chan."

Jiraiya didn't recognize her, but was used to being addressed with familiarity since he was the only human around. When he first showed up at the village, he had a hard time distinguishing one frog from another, but he learned the distinctions. This one was female by her voice and dress and the fact that she was larger than most male frogs. Jiraiya knew females were larger because they carried large amounts of eggs inside. He waved and said, "Hello. I don't think we've met?"

The frog said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Nami."

Jiraiya nodded politely and looked around at the tiny frogs jumping around, "Are these all yours?"

"Oh my, no," Nami replied, "I take care of these tadpoles and froglets until they're ready to leave the pond."

"They're very cute."

"They are," Nami conceded with a smile, "but they can be a little hard to deal with sometimes."

Jiraiya laughed and sat down. A little froglet boy, no taller than his kneecap, hopped over to him and looked at the book he was carrying around. Jiraiya smiled at the little froglet and asked, "Would you like me to read to you?"

The froglet croaked, "Yes please."

Jiraiya picked the froglet up and sat him on his knee then said, "Okay, I'll read to you and your friends here." He began to read his story to the frogs and their little eyes grew big. After reading a chapter, he said, "That's it for now, little frogs."

A few of them said, "Please read more of the story!"

Jiraiya smiled and said, "Alright. I'll come by tomorrow and read some more."

Nami thanked Jiraiya for visiting and resumed watching the froglets and tadpoles.

The noise of a cane tapping on pebbles caught Jiraiya's attention, so he looked up from what he was doing.

Ma and Pa walked up to him, bickering amongst themselves. Pa spoke first, "The Great Sage wishes to share a dream he had about you."

Jiraiya asked, "Right now?"

Ma said, "Yes, dear. You better come with us." She beckoned for him to follow, so he did. He followed them to the ancient toad, which was patiently waiting, as usual, on his stone chair. Jiraiya kept his head bowed reverently, having learned after a long time the importance of the Great Sage.

The wrinkled and parched lips of the toad croaked throatily, "Please approach me, Jiraiya-chan."

"I am here, Great Sage. What is it you want to tell me?"

"I have been having dreams about you. I believe them to be about your future."

"What will happen?"

The old toad said, "I see you becoming a pervert without equal and a Shinobi of incredible talent."

Jiraiya crossed his arms indignantly. He didn't understand why the prediction about perversion was so important. If it weren't for his respect for the Great Sage, he would have said something.

"Someday, you will train a student." The old frog said, pausing for a breath before continuing, "And he will become the harbinger of a great revolution in the world of ninja. I have seen as much in my dreams." The old toad coughed and then continued at its tedious pace, "One or the other will finally bring peace to the world or utterly destroy it."

Jiraiya asked, "What do you mean by one or the other?"

"You will be their master; their teacher, and eventually you will be forced to make a difficult choice..."

Jiraiya noticed that the old toad didn't answer his question with some irritation. Ma and Pa, noticing, shook their heads and whispered to him, "Senility..."

The Sage, oblivious, continued, "You will travel the world…and write a book."

Jiraiya's interest peaked. "A book?" He enjoyed writing. Maybe he'd write a novel?

"I don't understand the reasons myself." the toad replied, nodding. "But you will walk across the globe, and observing all creation, watching as nature takes its course."

Jiraiya wrinkled his brow, showing some doubt, and asked, "Have your predictions ever been wrong?"

"No." The toad answered and then its ancient eyes turned to Jiraiya and a smile crossed its dry lips, "I predicted that a young child would stumble upon Myouboku Mountain, and would receive from me the power of the toads. It was a vision I had about my own future."

"You predicted that?" Jiraiya asked. There was no answer. The Great Sage had fallen asleep. Jiraiya wasn't sure whether to believe the Great Sage or not. He was led back to his home with a lot to think about.

Jiraiya continued his training with Pa, having understood his place in the prophecy of the Great Sage. As he trained, he learned more and more techniques which were progressively more amazing, and the powers that Jiraiya inherited from his contract were beyond belief. Jiraiya laughed when he first summoned a house sized toad out of thin air and rode on its back around the frog village. It was after that on a cool autumn evening that Jiraiya knew he was ready, and he missed a certain someone. 'Princess…' Jiraiya thought. He decided he had to return to Konoha.

It was then Pa told him, "I taught you everything I know, Jiraiya-chan."

Jiraiya said, "I am grateful that you did this for me. Nobody has ever shown me the love and compassion that you and Ma have. That's why this is very hard for me to do."

Ma croaked, "I understand, dear. You have a promise to keep with Konoha."

Pa nodded and added, "A man should always keep his promises. "

"I love you and the rest of the frogs here very much. I will visit as often as I can."

The two frogs hugged Jiraiya, then the young Shinobi performed a reverse summon and was instantly transported to Konoha.

ANBU agents detected Jiraiya's presence and arrived almost instantaneously.

"Jiraiya?" one masked ANBU agent asked. The shade of the sun through the trees cast leaf patterns on the owl shaped mask he wore.

"Hai. You have that right." The young man replied.

"We heard you were captured and imprisoned." Another ANBU agent commented then added, "It's great to see you back again."

"It's great to be back. Could you let the Hokage and Sarutobi-sensei know? I need to see someone."

The elite ANBU members nodded and with a whistle of wind, they disappeared from his sight.

Jiraiya wanted to see Tsunade very badly. He spent years hoping to see her again. It killed him that he couldn't get a message out to her and tell her that he was alive; to do so would reveal the secret of the frog village. After consulting with a few people in town, he learned Tsunade was at the training grounds. He strolled there, thinking of what he would say to her as he went. He found her sitting on a rock near a cliff, staring at the horizon. He walked in front of the sunset which bathed her in its glow and squatted down near her. He said, "Hello, Princess."

Tsunade's heart beat increased and she was filled with joy and thought, 'Jiraiya!' Though she was glad to see him, she was also sad. She pictured him alone in a dank jail cell in Yamaguni. She said softly, "I am surprised to see you." A pregnant pause followed then she added sadly, "You must hate me. I left you in that prison to rot." She shielded her eyes from the sun to see him better. Jiraiya was older and taller. There was something about him that Tsunade found appealing. He seemed more confident. There was an aura of power there, too.

Jiraiya shook his head, "No, I was protecting you. I couldn't let you suffer."

Tsunade blushed, but said, "Me? Why should you suffer? You had nothing to do with it."

Jiraiya gave Tsunade one of his serious looks, "You don't have to worry about me. I didn't suffer, Princess."

"What do you mean?"

"They let me out soon after you all left." Jiraiya laughed, but then realized the seriousness of the situation. Tsunade looked as though she was either going to kill him or worse.

"If you were let out, then where the _hell_ have you been?"

Jiraiya set his pack down and opened a flap. He dug around in the bag and produced a book. He handed it to Tsunade. The cover read, "Animal Realms of Enlightenment". He said, "I've been given a gift from some friends." He went about explaining everything about the frogs, the powers he inherited, and everything. Well, almost everything. He couldn't bring himself to tell her how he felt about her or thought about her all those years. After relating everything, Tsunade's face showed a mixture of interest and skepticism.

"Frogs?" Tsunade laughed with incredulity, "Are you serious?"

"Yes," He replied, nonplussed by her skepticism, "I learned a lot from them."

"I should be mad at you for leading everyone to believe you were dead or in prison." Tsunade sighed, "I'm just glad you're back. Konoha needs you. Things have gotten bad."

"You're right, I should have done something."

"If you ever go missing like that again," Tsunade warned with misty eyes, "I'll hurt you."

Jiraiya kissed Tsunade's cheek and said, "I'm sorry."

"You…!" Tsunade started to say in surprise. She clenched her fists, but felt them relax as her feelings prevented her from wanting to hurt Jiraiya.

Jiraiya laughed, performed a jutsu, and was carried away by a little tornado.

Tsunade touched her cheek and blushed. Pushing her thoughts away, she ran her hand along the binding of the book Jiraiya gave her. She wondered what other miracles like the frog people existed. She flipped open the book and began to study it. There was an illustration with several animal types, including a slug.


	5. Chapter 5 The Second Ninja War

**Chapter 5 – The Second Ninja War**

On a sunny day, a bird dropped down from above the trees to a woman's arm. On its leg was attached a cylindrical case. She removed the case and put the bird in a cage. It was a letter from a neighboring hidden village, and was a classified document. She ran the message to Nidaime Hokage immediately. She found him in his office and handed him the document.

Nondairy Hokage opened the case using a special unsealing jutsu. He pulled out the curled up paper and read it. He frowned and said, "Tell all of the special Jounin leaders we need to have a meeting. It looks like the Fire Lord has declared war on various countries."

War officially began, much to the horror and shock of most of the villagers. Everyone knew about the breakdown of alliances in the various countries, but none suspected diplomacy had broken down as badly as it did. Nidaime Hokage, doing the Fire Lord's bidding, sent out hordes of ninjas out to various areas where the fighting was. There were months of costly battles before Team Sarutobi was called in to help.

They were sent on a mission to keep a supply chain open in Amegakure. The morale of the team was strong. When they arrived at the battlefront, another platoon from Konoha greeted them.

"Hanzo is nearby. Be careful." A wounded ninja said to Hiruzen with a grimace of pain.

"Who is Hanzo?" Jiraiya asked. He winced a little, seeing the condition of the boy.

"He single-handedly defeated the Kage's security and most of the forces here. He's insanely strong."

Hiruzen spoke with his familiar voice of authority, "We set up base camp here. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru will search for survivors and bring them to the medical ninja team. I'll take over command of this base of operations."

The three squad members spread out, searching through ruined houses and buildings for anyone alive. Tsunade and Orochimaru came to an open area where hundreds of bodies were scattered. It was the scene of a bloodbath. Tsunade checked vital signs on several of them, but was unable to find any alive.

"Where did Jiraiya go?" Tsunade wondered aloud. She looked around curiously.

"I don't know, and I am sick of babysitting him." Orochimaru said ruefully.

Unfortunately, they ran straight into Hanzo who was riding on top of a giant salamander.

They fought with all of their power, but Hanzo was too strong. Because the three fought on his level, he spared their lives, but with the proviso that they would be known as Densetsu no Sannin ("Three Legendary Ninjas"). Having no other course of action possible, the three retreated. After getting some distance from Hanzo, they stopped to rest and heal. They located a quiet residential area that had been largely abandoned.

Jiraiya pulled out some food from his pack. A red haired child came from behind some ruins and asked, "Can I have some please?"

Jiraiya asked, "Where are your parents?"

The little boy looked away sadly, "They got killed in the war."

Tsunade and Jiraiya were sympathetic. "Here, have some crackers." Jiraiya said as he opened a cloth and revealed them.

The boy bowed, turned around and said, "Hey, Nagato, Konan, come out! He's not a bad guy."

From behind a dilapidated archway two more children came out. They all ate the crackers. Afterwards, the Sannin started walking away. The boys started to follow them. This irritated Tsunade. She snapped, "We already gave you food! What else do you want?"

The redheaded boy spoke again, "You guys are leaf ninja right? Teach us ninjutsu please!"

The little girl with long black hair smiled and offered an origami flower to Jiraiya and said, "This is my way of saying thanks." She introduced herself as Konan. The redheaded kid introduced himself as Yahiko.

Orochimaru wasn't happy with giving his food away and said, "Why don't we just kill them and be done with it?" Yahiko looked scared. The pale Sannin with green eyes continued, "All these kids orphaned by the war have nothing but pain and suffering waiting for them. It would be much more merciful to just kill them now."

Jiraiya yelled, "Are you off your damned rocker, Orochimaru?" He caught his breath and said, "Look, you and Tsunade go on ahead. I'll take care of them for a while."

Tsunade did a double-take, "Huh?" She couldn't believe Jiraiya would want to drag small children around a ruined village in the middle of a war.

"Just until they can fend for themselves," Jiraiya offered. "It's the least I can do to make up for all this."

Tsunade saw the look on the children's eyes and sighed. This was typical of Jiraiya, and a secret part of her was warmed by that fact. She and Orochimaru decided to let him help the children while she and Orochimaru looked for Hiruzen.

Later on, Jiraiya had dinner with the kids in their relatively untouched house. He showed off how he could cook a fish using his fire Jutsu. Yahiko was impressed. As they talked, Jiraiya started to comment on the war. "The three countries surrounding the Hidden Rain haven't quite stabilized yet, but this can't last forever. I hope by the time you kids get bigger, the other countries will have reached a compromise and we'll all live together in peace."

Yahiko made a face and yelled, "That's crap!" He turned to his friends and said, "They killed all our families. If we're going to 'understand' each other, first we have to make them suffer like we're suffering! Like when they stop a fight because someone got injured."

Jiraiya understood the analogy but didn't agree with it. He silently chewed his food.

Yahiko made a determined face, "I'm going to change it and protect everyone. So please, Jiraiya-sensei, train us."

Jiraiya just smiled sympathetically. After dinner, he reflected on Yahiko's words. As he looked out the window to the devastation outside, Konan burst in the door and yelled, "Jiraiya-sensei, help! Yahiko and Nagato are..."

Jiraiya replied quickly, "Lead the way."

Outside, the rain was pouring down on muddy ground. The two boys were sitting near the corpse of a ninja. They looked shaken, but not injured badly.

Konan ran up to them and told them, "I brought Sensei."

Yahiko had a bloody lip. Jiraiya asked him, "What happened?"

Yahiko paused then said, "The refugees tried to take our money and food." His face turned ashen and then he continued, "And...Nagato, he..."

Jiraiya noticed the dead ninja was a Chuunin from Iwagakure. He thought, '_This guy should have been way beyond these kids' level_.' He couldn't help but wonder how they did it. To his shock, Nagato's eyes had a ripple pattern in them. He recognized the pattern as the Rin'negan eye of old legends, a bloodline limit which allows the person who has it to be able to perform powerful techniques.

Jiraiya began to believe Nagato was possibly the one that the old toad told him about in the prophecy. He couldn't believe that a child with such a rare ability was a coincidence. If Nagato truly had the power of Rin'negan, he could possibly the one who would either bring destruction to the world or peace. That type of eye bloodline was known in many legends. It was said to be possessed by the "Sage of the Six Paths" -- the founder of the whole ninja world, whose knowledge and skills gave birth to ninjutsu itself. The eyes were called a tool of heaven itself; a tool of god that would bring salvation when the world was in chaos... or a weapon that would destroy all creation and return everything to dust. Jiraiya didn't believe those stories until just then. But how could he deny it when he was staring straight at the Rin'negan with his own eyes? He decided then to make Nagato and others his students.

"I will teach you." He said to the three. Yahiko was excited.

Later on, Nagato began to talk about the incident with the Iwa ninja with Jiraiya.

Jiraiya said, "What's wrong? You can tell me."

"Sensei..."

"Is it about what happened earlier?"

"When I saw Yahiko get hurt, I got really mad at that guy. Then I blacked out, or went out of my mind. When I came to, that guy was on the ground. I felt so scared and angry." The boy started to look severely distressed then raised his voice, "I must have lost it and killed... I shouldn't have done it! We could have found another way to..."

Jiraiya interrupted loudly, "Nagato!" Nagato quieted down and looked at Jiraiya. Jiraiya continued carefully, "I don't know if what you did was right or wrong, either. But Yahiko survived because of you. Protecting your friend at least was definitely the right thing to do. No one would blame you." He looked down and sighed, continuing, "Being hurt inevitably breeds feelings of hatred towards your attacker, but when we hurt others, we have to deal with their hatred for us and our own feelings of guilt. Knowing what it feels like to be hurt is exactly why we try to be kind to others." He paused. "That's what makes us human."

Nagato thought about all that Sensei said and then asked, "What do I have to do to be like that?"

"You have to grow up." Jiraiya said, mussing the child's hair.

"How can I do that?"

"How indeed?" Jiraiya answered with a smile, "I think you'll need to find that out on your own."

Nagato thought for a moment and then said, "When Konan and I were alone, crying because we were so hungry, Yahiko came and saved us. He even stole food from other people. I just want to keep them safe, no matter what kind of pain I have to go through."

Jiraiya smiled and nodded. He patted the boy's arm and said, "Let's go train."

Jiraiya kept his promise. He stayed with the children for three years. All three were showing real skills, too. They were demonstrating them during a sparring match with Jiraiya.

Nagato had freakishly strong chakra and took out a shadow clone with a deadly wind element Jutsu.

Yahiko, who earlier had performed an impressive water element Jutsu, yelled, "Whatcha think Sensei?"

Jiraiya knew this time would come, so he said, "I think I can go back to my village without regrets."

The three kids were heartbroken. Yahiko murmured, "Wha..?"

"You three have done so well these last three years." Jiraiya said, smiling, "Now it's time you lived your own lives."

Yahiko's face was forlorn. Jiraiya sympathetically said, "Uh oh. Don't cry, Yahiko! Everyone will think you're weak, right?" He turned to Konan and said, "Konan, I can tell that you're going to be a real beauty. Come see me again when you're 18!" His perverted side was tingling and he suppressed a drool at the thought. He continued speaking to all three, "You live in a very poor, needy country. I'm sure that a lot of sad times still lie ahead for it. That's why you three have to work together to change things. I'd say you three have all grown up. Right, Nagato?"

Jiraiya walked away.

Nagato's face darkened and he said, "Thank you, Sensei."


	6. Chapter 6 The Rise and Fall of Minato

**Chapter 6 – The Rise and Fall of Minato**

The team returned to Konoha, but Amegakure was secure, thanks to the service of Team Sarutobi in the war. Nidaime Hokage promoted the Sannin ninjas to Jounin rank, the highest possible, which was a great honor for them. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before another battle ensued, claiming the life of Nidaime Hokage. An emergency meeting was held by the council of elders. Hiruzen, being the strongest ninja in all of Konoha, was offered the position of Hokage, and he took it.

The war and the loss of a beloved Hokage changed the Sannin. Tsunade found love in a man named Dan. Dan died on a mission in front of Tsunade. She turned to gambling and studying medical techniques which she felt could have saved Dan's life. Orochimaru spent all of his time trying to find ways of increasing his power. Jiraiya started writing

The war came to a close eventually under the leadership of Sandaime Hokage. Treatises were signed and new alliances were forged. It was a delicate truce, and many of the former enemies of Konoha were precariously perched on the edge of sedition. To stave this off, a kind of contest was created to help nations show power without waging war. The Chuunin exams were an arena event which showcased the power of each nation and let warriors blow off steam in person to person combat.

Jounin were selected to train academy students for the Chuunin exams. Jiraiya needed the work, so he ended up training a scruffy kid named Namikaze Minato straight out of the academy. The two of them became very close over the next few years.

When Jiraiya felt the boy was ready, he took Minato to Myouboku Mountain; Minato became the second person to sign the contract before the Great Sage and inherit the powers of the toads. It wasn't long before Minato had grown into a teenager. He mastered all of the jutsu Jiraiya had to teach and invented a few of his own. Jiraiya had nothing more to teach him, and the two of them returned to Konoha.

Jiraiya decided he wanted to finish writing his book. He was short on money, so he decided to publish his journal as a work of fiction. He spent a couple of years writing the draft copy. Finally, he had something worthy of publishing, but he was missing a good name for the main character.

He sat at a ramen stand slurping noodles while sketching some drawings for his book. After clasping a piece of shrimp with his chopsticks, he decided his protagonist would be named "Naruto". The name sort of just popped into his head. He wrote the name down, closed the book and walked off that very day to the local publisher to sell the publishing rights for some travel money.

Jiraiya's book, "The Gutsy Ninja" was in print; he was so excited about it, he asked Minato for a review.

"How about I invite you over for some home cooking? You can meet my wife and it would give me time to read it."

"Good idea!" Jiraiya replied, "I'll be there."

Jiraiya showed up at Minato's house later that day. The two sat down in some comfortable chairs.

A young woman entered the room and brushed back a loch of her long red hair. Her name was Uzumaki Kushina; she was a young, beautiful and very pregnant kunoichi from Uzu no Kuni. She asked Jiraiya, "Would you like something to drink, Sensei?"

Jiraiya smiled and nodded, "Thanks. I'd like some tea, if you have it." He paused and then turned to Minato, who was flipping through pages and asked, "So, Minato, what do you think of the book?"

Minato finished thumbing through the book and then closed it, "I really liked it...It almost reads like a biography."

"Yeah, but... It didn't sell at all," Jiraiya groused then thoughtfully added, "Maybe I should try and sex up the sequel a little... That's my real forte, after all."

"I really love the way the protagonist refused to give up, even at the end. That was really cool." Minato smiled thoughtfully, "He's just like you, Sensei."

Jiraiya laughed incredulously, "You really think so?"

"Actually, I was just thinking." Minato replied and gestured towards Kushina. "We would like to raise our child to be a Shinobi like the one in your book. That's why we decided to name our baby after him."

"Are you sure about this?" Jiraiya asked in surprise, "It's just a random name I came with while I was eating some ramen..."

Kushina rubbed her swollen belly and said, "Naruto is a beautiful name."

Jiraiya joked. "If I name him, then that makes me his godfather, right? Are you sure you want that on your heads?"

"Absolutely! You're a man of true skill... An example we should all follow. I can't think of a finer Shinobi than you."

Jiraiya shook both their hands and said, "Then I accept."

Orochimaru stood in a dark room, surrounded by grisly reminders of his misdeeds. He had been pacing the dusty floor of a forgotten library. The sum total of all jutsu knowledge surrounded him. '_The problem is, there is more here to learn than I could in a lifetime.' _He thought. That was when it occurred to him that he would have to find some way to extend his life; to make it possible to live long enough to perform every jutsu possible. He had been working on such a plan, but it had been slow going, especially when the other members of the elite ANBU squad were growing suspicious of what he was doing.

Orochimaru left the library and walked briskly down the marble hallway of the Hokage mansion. He had renewed interest in finishing one of his experiments he was working on.

After arriving in a disused damp basement somewhere in Konoha, Orochimaru flung open the doors to his lab. The smell of decayed flesh was unpleasant, but it reminded him of the importance of the work he was doing. Ignoring the scent, he flicked on a small lamp. On the counter under the illuminance of the white light, a severed hand was stuck onto a clamp. Orochimaru laughed quietly to himself as he recalled the manner in which he killed this particular person. '_The look on his face was priceless.' _He thought with a grin. The chalky-skinned Sannin felt a brief moment of joy.

Suddenly the door burst open. Sandaime Hokage and ANBU ran in.

Orochimaru chuckled and said, "It seems I've been caught. How disappointing."

"Orochimaru, what is the meaning of this?" Hiruzen demanded.

Orochimaru smirked and said, "I set up a lot of booby traps, but it seems they were bypassed. I was surprised, but I see why, now. It was you."

One of the ANBU members with an owl mask commented, "People have started turning up missing lately in the village; Genins, Chuunins, even ANBU members. Also, we received information that you were acting weird recently."

Another ANBU member spoke, "Orochimaru-sama, why is a great ninja like you doing this?"

Orochimaru laughed, "Shall I kill you too?"

Hiruzen's face showed disappointment, and he said, "Orochimaru, so you were behind all of that. Tell me, what were you doing here?"

"Now that you caught me red handed, I guess lying won't help." Orochimaru said, turning around to face the Hokage. He coolly replied, "I was developing…a new technique."

A man in a cat mask asked, "Is that why you killed your fellow ninja?"

Hiruzen closed his eyes, not wanting to believe the truth. Fully understanding, he said, "A forbidden technique, huh?" He opened his eyes and looked at Orochimaru with disapproval and said, "What are you trying to accomplish?"

"Everything."

"Everything?" Hiruzen asked, confused.

"I want to master all techniques, and understand the truth of this world. The one that mixed blue and yellow for the first time called the new color green. I want to do something similar to that. If blue represents chakra, yellow represents seals, and green represents the technique. As there are many different colors, there are tens of thousands of techniques in this world. But to master all existing techniques and understand the truth takes a lot of time. The person who spends that amount of time and understands everything is worthy of being called 'the ultimate being'. To me, the body's lifespan is too short. It is too transient. Even if I were Hokage, everything would end after I died."

Hiruzen pensively asked, "Orochimaru is the technique that you were researching here…?"

"Yes…you probably have the right idea." Orochimaru confirmed, and then added, "A technique dealing with eternal youth and immortality."

Hiruzen frowned, "I'll have to stop you."

Orochimaru called his bluff, and ran for the door. Hiruzen prepared himself to release a terrible jutsu that would probably instantly kill Orochimaru, but he felt his will weaken. Orochimaru was his student since he was a child. He felt conflicted. Unfortunately his hesitation cost him the kill, and Orochimaru escaped.

Hiruzen was depressed over his loss of Orochimaru to evil. He decided to retire as Hokage because of his shame in letting Orochimaru go. The village elders convened with him and they made a final decision to make Namikaze Minato the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha.

At the ceremony, Uzumaki Kushina sat on a seat in the front of the crowd. Her belly had grown gigantic, and she winced as a sudden pain struck her. "Stop kicking mommy, Naruto." she complained. She waved at her husband and tried not to show him her pain.

Hiruzen handed Minato the robes of the office of Hokage and the crowd cheered.

Jiraiya whistled and cheered with the crowd. The boy had truly become a great man, and Jiraiya couldn't be happier.

Burning embers shot off of a wooden plank that was suspended over a doorway where Minato stood. Behind the man was a monster of immense size. He had just avoided getting trampled by it and burned by its chakra bursts. The name of the horrifying monster was Kyuubi, the nine tailed fox, and it was tearing up Konoha, two years after Minato's appointment as Hokage.

Kyuubi's foot slammed deeply into the soft ground, leaving a huge footprint. Minato gasped; the foot nearly grazed the doorway he was standing in. Minato shielded his eyes from orange flames eating away at the door sill. Many smells came to his nose. Some of them, he didn't want to try to identify. The source of the smells came from farther from him. Waves of heat scorched the air.

Minato looked up and could see strange pulsating balls of black chakra emitting from Kyuubi's mouth. It was black in the center with a burning corona of energy surrounding it. A sickening feeling washed over Minato after he witnessed it shooting out of the monster. His eyes tracked it all the way to a building which vaporized instantly. The shock waves from the blast shook the ground like an earthquake. Nothing, not even ash was left where it struck; only a glowing sheet of glass on the ground.

People were screaming; even the elite ninjas seemed unable to do anything about it.

Minato ran back into the hospital where he came out of earlier, scanning each room for survivors. He finally reached the one where his wife was at. She was not doing well. The sheets all around her were soaked in blood and she was screaming in pain. The doctor gave her a sedative, but kept looking around the room out of fear that the monster might decide to destroy the building at any given moment.

Minato asked, "Is she going to be okay, Sensei?"

"I want to say yes, but there was a complication…" the doctor replied and grimaced. He put his hand on Minato's shoulder and shook his head sadly, "The bleeding is really bad."

Minato felt his stomach churn.

A weak voice rasped out, "Minato…!" It was Kushina. She held her hand up weakly for him. Minato could barely stand to look; Kushina's sheet was soaked with blood. He swallowed the feeling of horror and ran to her side.

Kushina tried to smile, but it took an effort on her part. She touched her husband's hand gently and grasped it lightly. It was cold to the touch.

Minato's eyes filled with tears. Kushina took a breath, looked up at him and whispered, "I love you and please protect Naruto!" She squeezed his hand slightly, hers went limp. Minato pulled her body close to him and cried.

Explosions outside and the cracking of wood beams brought Minato's focus back to the issue at hand. He stumbled backwards from one of the shock waves and felt the agony of his emotions assaulting him. His wife was dead, and he had to put a brave face on for the sake of his village and his unborn child. He pursed his lips as he looked sadly at the doctor.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama." The doctor said sympathetically.

"Just save the baby. I don't have time to grieve," Minato said in a low, sad voice.

The doctor nodded and motioned for his nurse to help him. He quickly exposed Kushina's belly and made an incision. Minato didn't watch. His thoughts drifted to his training with the frogs. There was a technique he knew which would not only rid Konoha of the nine tailed fox, but would also provide his child with protection. The price he would have to pay to use it was death, however.

The doctor carefully reached into the incision area and carefully pulled out a baby, cut its cord and cleaned it up. The nurse cleared the baby's mouth, and it cried loudly. Minato sighed in relief.

"It's a boy, and he looks healthy," The doctor said with a bittersweet smile, "Would you like to hold him?"

"Yes, thank you."

The nurse wrapped the baby up in a cloth and unplugged its nose with a bulb syringe. The baby boy cried a little, but stopped after he was handed over to his father. Minato's held the baby close to him.

"Do you have a name for him?" The nurse asked, smiling.

Minato cradled the baby and answered, "He will be called Naruto." Little Naruto's mouth made a little yawn and he made some tiny noises. The doctor and nurse leaned in to look at the baby. They both smiled.

"Little Naruto," Minato cooed softly to the infant, but was interrupted by an explosion. It rocked the hospital building so hard that fixtures fell over. Minato just gritted his teeth, looking up at the ceiling. He wrapped the baby a bit more and said to the doctor and nurse, "I have to save us."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to face Kyuubi."

The nurse walked over, intending on taking the baby in her care, but Minato shook his head. To the shock and surprise of the nurse and doctor, Minato held Naruto to his chest and ran out the door. He heard shouts behind him, but he didn't care. He knew what he had to do.

Just past the burning entrance outside, Minato stood in a giant footprint in the road. He slammed his free hand down on the ground and said, "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu". _Runes appeared on the ground around his hand and a giant puff of smoke appeared.

The smoke wafted away afterwards, revealing Gamabunta, the toad boss, smoking a huge pipe and wearing a kimono. He was as tall as some of the biggest buildings in Konoha. The giant toad squinted at Minato then at the nine tailed fox. He understood immediately why he was called.

Minato gestured to Gamabunta, who opened his mouth and picked Minato up with his enormous tongue. Minato walked off the tongue onto the toad's head, careful not to jostle the baby. He grabbed the collar of Gamabunta's giant kimono and said, "We need to get out of here. Find us a safe place."

Gamabunta nodded at the golden haired man and hopped towards the rural section of town. The two of them moved quickly towards a farmhouse, but Kyuubi noticed them and gave chase. Minato acted quickly and formed a series of hand seals while focusing his chakra energies. The ritual which was taught to him by the Great Sage had begun. The ebb of chakra energy filled him up, and he completed the ritual by clapping his hands together in prayer.

The air seemed to pull apart as though it were a cloak, revealing a large sinister looking being with long white hair and golden eyes. It carried a sword in its mouth. This creature was known as Shinigami, the death god. It was known to swallow souls, and any souls unlucky enough to end up like that would be trapped inside for all eternity. This was the price Minato was willing to pay to protect his son and his village.

Chained to the front of Shinigami was a featureless glowing form in the shape of a man.

Kyuubi sensed the presence of Shinigami and turned to face him. He bared his teeth and all nine tails bristled with hate, but before he could act, Shinigami released the glowing humanoid shape which reached out and pushed its ghostly hand through the baby's body. Its fingers uncoiled after exiting through the belly. The palm of the hand glowed, dimly at first, then as bright as the sun. The blinding light that emitted from it engulfed Kyuubi. Kyuubi shrank smaller and smaller until it fit into the hand. The hand pulled back, phasing Kyuubi through and inside of Naruto's skin.

Minato concentrated deeply and his fingers burned bluish white with chakra in the shape of sacred letters. He touched his baby's belly and yelled, "_Fuuin Jutsu!_" A symbol with runes appeared on Naruto's belly, and Minato collapsed onto the toad's back as Shinigami quickly devoured his soul as payment.


End file.
